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Fury 325
Fury 325 is a steel roller coaster located at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, it features a 6,602-foot-long (2,012 m) track that reaches a maximum height of 325 feet (99 m). Riders experience speeds of up to 95 miles per hour (153 km/h), winding through high-speed curves and passing over and under the park's main entrance. Fury 325 is the sixth-tallest roller coaster in the world and the tallest to use a traditional chain lift hill. It has also been voted the best steel coaster for three consecutive years in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards beginning in 2016, which ended Millennium Force's six-year streak. History In September 2012 the Charlotte City Council discussed plans for a proposed roller coaster in one of its meetings and it was revealed the ride would cost approximately $30 million. In a closed-session meeting, it was mentioned that the roller coaster would stand 70 feet (21 m) higher than the park's Intimidator roller coaster which stands at 232 feet (71 m), meaning the new coaster would be 302 feet (92 m) high. On October 18, January 23, 2014, and June 9, Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, the owners of Carowinds, filed trademark applications for the names Centurion, Fury, and Fury 325. In February, the Centurion trademark was suspended after another trademark application using the same name was found by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In July, the blueprints for Fury 325 were leaked showing the exact layout of the roller coaster. At the beginning of August, the park sent a beekeeper to deliver a partially burnt bug net with a card saying, "you're gonna need a much bigger net to capture the thrills of the 2015 Carowinds season", to several media outlets in the Charlotte area. On August 12, a microsite on Carowinds' website was found advertising a new ride called Centurion. A similar hoax was conducted by Kings Island leading up to the announcement of Banshee in 2013. Carowinds officially announced Fury 325 on August 22, 2014 at an event held at the park's Harmony Hall Marketplace. The first piece of track was installed on September 29, 2014. Within the week, the structure for the storage track was erected. By October 22, the majority of the brake run was complete; two days later the final pieces for the section were put into place. By October 26, the base of the lift hill was installed. On December 4, the lift hill and first drop were completed. On January 30, 2015, the final piece of Fury 325's track was put in place. Fury 325 completed its first test run on March 4, 2015. On March 25, 2015, Carowinds held the coaster's media day. Ride experience Once the train is loaded and secured, it dispatches from the station and immediately passes over the transfer track. Afterwards, the train climbs the 325-foot (99 m) chain lift hill. Once at the top, the train drops toward the ground at a 81-degree angle reaching a maximum speed of approximately 95 miles per hour (153 km/h). Following the drop, the train enters a 190-foot (58 m) high barrel turn. It then travels through a high speed s-curve, making its way to the park's main entrance. Passing over the entrance, the train makes a banked turn to the left leading into a 157-foot (48 m) high horseshoe. At the top of the horseshoe, the train hits a 91-degree angle before dropping toward the ground and under the guest pathway leading to the park entrance. It then enters a second banked turn to the left, reaching a height of 101 feet (31 m). Following a straight section of track, the train goes over a 111-foot (34 m) camelback hill and makes a near-180-degree turn. It then enters a second camelback hill, followed by a left turn into a third camelback hill that ends with the final brake run. The train makes a 180-degree turn as it returns to the station. According to Carowinds, the total ride time is three minutes and 25 seconds.